Morphometric and RAPD Study of the Melampyrum sylvaticum Group in the Sudeten, the Alps and Carpathians

The Melampyrum sylvaticum group is a heterogeneous group at the inter- and infra-specific level. A wide range of morphological characters was examined on specimens collected for this study. The corolla size, the corolla colour and the anther length are considered the most important morphological cha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Folia geobotanica 2005-01, Vol.40 (2/3), p.177-193
Main Authors: Štech, Milan, Drábková, Lenka
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthers
Bracts
Calyx
Corolla
Datasets
Genetic variation
Ordination
Plant morphology
Plants
Taxa
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Summary:The Melampyrum sylvaticum group is a heterogeneous group at the inter- and infra-specific level. A wide range of morphological characters was examined on specimens collected for this study. The corolla size, the corolla colour and the anther length are considered the most important morphological characters at the interspecific taxonomic level. The morphological and molecular variation of the Melampyrum sylvaticum group in the Sudeten, Alps and Carpathians was analyzed. The morphometric study of European populations of Melampyrum sylvaticum group partly clarified the pattern of the variation of selected characters in this region. The RAPD analysis manifests a very similar trend of the population grouping. The combined analysis of morphological and molecular data gives the most explicit results. Central European yellow flowering populations of M. sylvaticum group form two distinctive groups. The first one is an exclusive type of the Alps and of the Hercynian Mountains (except the Sudeten). The second group has its centre of distribution in the eastern part of the Carpathians. This type was described as Melampyrum herbichii from the present Ukrainian Carpathians and was regarded to be endemic to the Eastern and Southern Carpathians. Populations from the Western Carpathians and Sudeten Mts. are polymorphic. They seem to be closer to M. herbichii based on the RAPD markers, whereas the morphology of most populations from these regions is closer to M. sylvaticum s.str. The bract shape seems to be important for discrimination between both groups of populations along with the flower characters and a modest ecological differentiation. The Eastern Carpathian Melampyrum saxosum with white corolla is very close to M. herbichii based on the studied morphological characters.
ISSN:1211-9520
1874-9348
DOI:10.1007/BF02803233